(or how to move onto a sailboat)
With the advent of our 50th birthdays came the usual sorts of life evaluations that one goes through. At what have I succeeded? What contributions have I made? What do I have left that I want to do before I die? Living on the water was high on both our lists.
For any who share the dream, and for our family members who might not understand, this is our story. We don't know where it will take us, but welcome along for the ride!

Kintala

Friday, February 20, 2009

Stepping back is stepping up?

Posted by
TJ

The economy is, of course, THE ISSUE. Except, well, it isn't. It is not the "end of the world as we know it." The world as we know it goes through this kind of thing on a pretty regular basis. Unemployment stalks the land but the vast majority of us are still employed. Yet there is something subtle but (perhaps) profound afoot; the idea that the days of debt driven obsessive consumerism have passed. (A "Mea Culpa" here; we own two motorcycles, a pick-up truck, and a boat. We live in the Central West End and have a working fire place. These past couple of weeks we did our bit for the economy by buying a big screen TV and putting in a hardwood floor. A lot of what some people criticize as consumerism I see as people just trying to live as best and as comfortably as they can. Oh, and I make my living driving a corporate jet. Me bad.)

The odd thing is that our goal, (Deb's and mine) really is to downsize, to live simpler, to live lighter on the earth. I don't think we will have pick-up trucks and big screen TVs on the boat. We may lack air conditioning, big refrigerators, closets full of clothes, video games, walls full of pictures, shelves full of do-dads and garages full of tools. (Okay, that last one might hurt a bit. We may stash a couple of motorcycles in a garage somewhere.) We might still have a hard wood floor, sort of, if we end up in a mono-hull. The very nature of living on a boat will make power consumption THE issue when it comes to our personal "consumerism." And living on a sailboat is about as "green" as a person can be. (Not counting the occasional bout of sea sickness!) If we manage to make 100 miles in a day's traveling we will be really moving, but all we will use is a little wind. When I think of it our very definition of "living better" is to reduce (at least to some people's thinking) our "standard of living."

That "standard" is something unique to each. For some it may still be that bigger, newer car, new kitchen, or house with some more bedrooms and cathedral ceiling. And I say more power to them. I hope they get there, sit on their back porch, and smile at their good fortune. For others though, that "back porch" may be a bit smaller, partially filled with a pair of big chrome wheels, have a bunch of ropes running this way and that, be cooled only by the breeze, and move gently with the motion of the waves. The schedule set by the winds and the tides, the "yard" whatever lies off the bow, and the stuff that is owned fits on a floating platform of some 600 square feet or less. For some stepping back really is stepping up.

2 comments:

You've hit on a key point. Many of the troubles today are due to policies which prop up a lifestyle which is generally a bit too ambituous. I think a "normal" economy may be a bit more restrained than the recent past, but the adjustment will be painful and folks will be tempted to fix the symptoms.

I have heard for years (and mostly agree with) that Americans need to borrow less, spend less, and save more. Now that we are doing just exactly that it is a "bad thing." We are using less oil, burning through fewer resources, producing less garbage and who knows, maybe even spending more time with family or reading a good book. I think what we need to do is learn how to live this way while still keeping people employed. Maybe 30 hour work weeks or a months vacation for everyone? I don't know, but it seems something we should be able to figure out.

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Cruising Stats

Days since we left: 1345Days anchored: 387Days on the dock: 662 (includes free docks)Days on a mooring: 203Days in a boat yard: 81Overnights sailing: 12

Sailing Quotes

"The main reason that he wears a harness and tether is that doing so slows him down and makes him constantly mindful of the risks of going overboard as he works on deck and that, in turn, makes him far safer than any gear ever will."

John from Attainable Adventure Cruising on
Wilson Fitts
Why?
"It is not just because I love to sail, or because I love to travel. It is the desire to live a more simple life, a place apart from the gross consumption of the modern first world. The desire to teach my children respect for our fragile planet by living with a light footprint. The desire to embrace live in the now, and not postpone it for an amorphous 'someday.' "

Behan Gifford
"Between us there was, as I have already said somewhere, the bond of the sea."

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness"Who is staring at the sea is already sailing a little."

Paul Carvel"Find what and where you want to be, discard everything that doesn't get you closer to that and laugh like a school girl when you arrive."

John Loggins
"It is good to have an end to journey toward but it is the journey that matters in the end."

Ursula Le Gum
"Life is about having experiences and then keeping those memories. I don't remember what toy you got me for my fifth birthday but I'll always remember having an Easter egg hunt party. The matter of things break down but the nonphysical aspect of experience can't be touched. The memories we make are less frequent but they become more meaningful."